(May 26, 2008) - When Anthony Gallardo was growing up, he didn't consider himself a golfer.

The sport was simply something he did for fun on the weekends with his father. A soccer player since childhood, Gallardo hung up his spikes his freshman year at Central Catholic and grabbed his putter.

Despite playing just a handful of times per year up until that point, Gallardo made the varsity team as a freshman. Admittedly, he didn't compete much that first year, but after playing the entire summer between his freshman and sophomore year, he competed in every match for the Raiders the next season.

The Methuen native rode the wave, and his senior season was named an Eagle-Tribune All-Star and was recruited to play at Iona.

"I went and visited the school and just fell in love with it," said Gallardo. "I never thought that would happen when I first made it to high school. I had literally never played in a tournament until my first match at Central. I spent two years there and I had a good time, I liked the people, but it turned out to just not be the right decision."

Last season, he decided to go back to his roots, and transferred to UMass Lowell, where he competed this past season for coach Gary Mucica, who is also a member at Andover Country Club.

"When I was first going through the college search, UMass Lowell was in my top three," said Gallardo. "In fact, Coach Mucica still jokes with me that I didn't pick him at first. He is really the nicest guy in the world. The team wasn't that good when I first looked at the school. He told me that he was building something special here and when I was transferring and looked again, I noticed that he was right.

"This year, we went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in our history. Next year, we don't lose anyone, so the goal is to go even further."

Gallardo, who had the low average on the River Hawks, has consistently improved his game despite taking most of the summer off to focus on his studies.

"I wish I played more in the summer," said Gallardo, who has a 3.27 GPA. "I have an internship this summer with Oppenheimer Funds Investments for the third year in a row. In fact, I leave (today) to go out to New York City for the summer. I'm studying finance in school, and it's a great experience. I work in Manhattan all summer and then come back with about three weeks to go before the season starts, and then it's a grind every day."

When Gallardo arrives in Manhattan, he will be in familiar surroundings.

"It works out well, my girlfriend still goes to Iona, and I have a bunch of friends down there," he said. "I live in New Rochelle, right outside Manhattan, and Iona is right there."

Gallardo compiled a season average of 76.27, and was named to the Division 2 Ping All-Northeast Team after his performance in the regional. The junior carded rounds of 77, 75, and 77. He finished second at the Northeast-10 Championships with a 148 and was named UML's Golfer of the Year.